Waving Goodbye
by Gunpowder Cookies
Summary: Even when she had left this life, she would always wave him goodbye upon departure.


**AN: Has anyone here read **_**The Five People You Meet in Heaven**_**? It's one of my favourite books, next to **_**To Kill A Mockingbird**_** and **_**My Sisters' Keeper**_**. Anyway, it's the inspiration for this story, especially the ending scene. To sum it up, the book is about a man dying and then meeting five people in heaven, people who were involved in his life in some way. These people explain his life to him and help him come to terms with the past so that he can move on in peace. It's a beautiful book, and whilst this story isn't strictly along the same lines, the ending scene shares many similarities.**

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail, I'm afraid. I'm just a humble fan…**_

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><p>It was entirely his fault. He had killed his best friend.<p>

He shouldn't have let her go on a mission alone. He wasn't going on the basis that he had promised to go fishing with Happy that day (though it was secretly because, above all else, the journey would have involved a train, a boat and a freakin' _hot air balloon_). She wanted to go because her rent was due and the job paid well.

"Luce." He had said. "Why can't you wait? Go on another job?"

The blonde had rolled her eyes. "Rent, Natsu. My rent. I've missed the deadline three months in a row, so I can't mess up this time."

He still wasn't happy. "Well… you can't go alone!"

To this Lucy had simply twirled her keys around her index finger and winked at him. "Honestly Natsu, I'm offended. Do you have so little faith in me?"

He made a mental snapshot of her leaving. Heading for the door of the guild, she turned around and waved at him. The way her hair fell over her shoulder during that moment, the way the light had hit her at that precise time, the brightness in her eyes, the gentle sincerity in her smile. That was the image that would stay with him forever, even though he didn't know it when he grinned and waved back.

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><p>Turns out that his earlier caution was justified.<p>

When they told him of her death, he had been paralysed with shock. When he heard that she had been raped before her murder, he was furious. It took Gray, Erza, Elfman and even Gajeel to stop him from burning the guildhouse down. The anger… it took over him. All he could see was red, all he could hear was screaming, and her voice ringing on.

"_Do you have so little faith in me?"_

When they knocked him out and eventually calmed him down, something different came over. A numbness, almost as if he had been cut off from the world and was floating adrift.

He was pulled back down to Earthland when Lisanna hugged him, tears streaming from her eyes. She too was affected by Lucy's end. Everyone was. He wasn't alone, and that brought him comfort.

But a spooky thing happened. When he left the guild and returned home, he happened to walk by the river (if only by habit). It was early evening and the sky was a warm gold with streaks of rich pink across it, reflecting on the water. When he saw her, his heart skipped a beat.

She was walking on the wall, just like before.

When Natsu called out her name, she turned around, only just keeping her balance. And she looked alive, like the last time he saw her, upbeat and joyful.

Lucy smiled and waved before returning to her balancing act and fading away.

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><p>He eventually started taking missions again. His first was just him and Happy, like the old days.<p>

He took forever to get onto the train… like before.

He got travelsick… like before.

He was left on the train… like before.

When he had been saved from that cursed contraption, Natsu and Happy were sitting on a bench at the station, trying to figure out the town map they had picked up in order to find the client's house.

And he saw her, on the platform with her suitcase, within a large crowd. He only recognised her hair, of course, within that whirlpool of people, but that was enough.

When he whispered her name to himself, she turned around, acting completely casual and at ease.

Lucy smiled and waved before boarding the train and leaving.

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><p>He then went on a mission with a slightly altered version of Team Natsu; Lisanna fulfilled Lucy's role. It wasn't like they had meant to replace her or anything. Team Natsu was not a team used to having four members. Lisanna knew that she wasn't replacing Lucy- simply filling in a gaping hole that had been left.<p>

They were walking around town, up to their usual antics: Erza dragging around a freakish amount of luggage, Gray stripping, Lisanna talking animatedly to Happy, Natsu complaining about transport.

This time, he saw her in a magic shop, looking at a display of Stellar Spirit keys (although Natsu knew that they would have been far out of her price range).

She sensed his eyes on her and looked up, brushing her hair out of her eyes.

Lucy smiled and waved before walking away to the back of the shop, leaving Natsu to stare at his reflection.

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><p>When had he last been this nervous? Never. All of pep talk Happy could offer was nothing to make him feel comfortable.<p>

How the heck was Natsu, who had been raised by a dragon, supposed to ask a girl out on a date?

Gray's idea of being supportive wasn't exactly helpful either. "Natsu Dragneel, Salamander of Fairy Tail, afraid of asking a girl out." The ice mage had said mockingly.

That started a fight, which in turn caused Erza to pummel them, which in turn lead to Erza giving 'advice'."

After downing a good fire whiskey, Natsu eventually summoned up the courage to '_just do it'._

She was at a table with Wendy and Charle, evidently talking about a certain blue cat. When he approached, she looked up, crystal blue eyes widening.

"Hey, Natsu!" Lisanna chirped, smiling at him sweetly.

In the end, he wasn't able to spit out the mushy declaration of love that Happy wrote for him. So all he said was. "Go out with me?"

Then she said yes and threw herself at him in a tight hug. Mirajane jumped in joy, Elfman started saying something manly, Erza nodded in approval and Gray wondered how on Earth Natsu had managed to get himself a girlfriend before he had.

Looking over Lisanna's shoulder, Natsu saw her at the entrance to the guild, watching.

Lucy smiled and waved before walking out and leaving Natsu with his new girlfriend.

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><p>The date. Oh god, the date.<p>

It took enough stress to stop Mirajane from wiping her spit all over his hair, and several bribes of fish to convince Happy not to come.

Natsu wasn't sure that he would make it through alive.

But he did. He just acted like his usual self and the date went fine, even down to the walk beside the river. By chance, they ended up outside her old apartment, one that was now home to a new tenant, one who probably never had trouble paying their rent.

It was there that he kissed her, his first kiss.

When he was done and Lisanna was looking away whilst blushing crimson, he saw her. She was standing on the steps to her apartment, unlocking the door with keys that he knew all too well had been melted down, curtosey of the dragonslayer.

Lucy smiled and waved before entering her apartment and closing the door behind her.

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><p>"Hold still, will you?" Erza hissed, patting his suit down. Natsu groaned, but a sharp look sent him into silence.<p>

The Titania glared at him. "This is your wedding, Natsu. At least put in some effort."

"But Gray's not even wearing his suit!" The boy whined.

And then all hell broke loose.

She looked beautiful, Lisanna did. Her dress wasn't exactly elaborate, but its simplicity was charming.

Whilst the priest guy droned on about holy matrimony and the whatnot, he saw her.

She was sitting on one of the church rafters, wearing the same powder blue dress as the bridesmaids were. In her hand was a small pouch.

Lucy smiled and waved. She then tossed the confetti in the air and slid off the rafter, falling for a brief three seconds before she and the confetti disappeared into thin air.

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><p>"What do you think?"<p>

"She's… small. And… small." He said lamely.

"She's small?" Came a venomous hiss.

"Uhhh…yeah."

"Seriously, Natsu! That's all you have to say about our daughter!" Lisanna snapped. Evidently, the mood swings had yet to die down.

Her husband groaned and took the baby into his arms. She was small, but even he had to admit that she was beautiful. And he felt a burst of pride when he saw pink fuzz on her scalp.

Lisanna smiled, worn out. "What should we call her?"

"Ummm…"

She ended up answering her own question. "Layla."

He nodded in agreement, and his wife sighed softly. Lisanna was making a gift to Lucy, almost as an apology for marrying Natsu.

Layla gurgled and pointed to the window. The family, all three of them, saw her in the woods outside their house.

Lucy smiled and waved before running into the shadows of the trees, arms outstretched like the wings of an airplane.

Lisanna stood up, eyes wide, heading for the door. "Did you see that, Natsu! It- it was Lu-"

"I know."

At that his spouse halted and turned to him. "What…?"

"She's always like that. A smile, a wave, and she leaves."

Looking into each other's eyes, husband and wife came to an unspoken agreement- they would not speak of that incident again.

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><p>He didn't see her for a while after that. Years passed by, and years turned into decades. Layla learnt to walk, to talk, to use magic. She had teenage temper tantrums, declarations of hatred for her parents. She went on dates, she became an S-class, she got married, she had children of her own.<p>

But Lucy wasn't there. In fact, he didn't see Lucy again until he too left.

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><p>Natsu was in a mansion. The grand interior, the bustling servants and pristine cleanliness made him feel out of place. Chandeliers and lush tapestries adorned the cavernous room, portraits of oddly familiar looking people hanging from the walls.<p>

He felt different too- seeing his reflection in the polished floor tiles, he realised he was a teenager again. His hair was once again salmon, his body muscular, his face devoid of wrinkles.

"I've been waiting, you dunderhead."

He turned around and saw her, wearing an elaborate ballgown. She looked ladylike and esteemed, her poise elegant. Her hair had been tied into a neat bun with an expensive looking hairpin, whilst a diamond necklace hung at her throat; only adding to the image of an aristocrat- no, a princess.

"Luce?"

"Took you long enough to get here." She deadpanned.

"Where am I? Is this…"

Lucy shook her head. "This isn't heaven, Natsu. This is _my _heaven."

He couldn't speak. Why was this her heaven? The very mansion she ran away from? Why was she wearing the clothing that she claimed to despise?

But then the memories can flooding back and he was in front of her, grabbing her by the shoulders, shouting into her face.

"STUPID! Why did you go alone! You were…you were…"

"Raped." She said bluntly. "And killed."

And with that Natsu sprang back as though she had punched him in the gut. His eyes widened at her, the way she seemed not at all fazed talking about her sad fate. He forced himself to stay strong.

"I…I shouldn't have let you go."

"Don't say that, Natsu."

"But… if I hadn't, you wouldn't have…"

"Died?"

"Yeah."

Lucy sighed. Arranging her skirts, she sat on the floor, allowing the cloth to billow out around her. She motioned for her companion to do so as well and waited for him to obey before speaking.

"Natsu, I'm not here for you to shout at me. I'm here to teach you a lesson. Okay, so I was killed. And maybe, maybe if you had been there, I would still be alive. But life is full of 'what ifs', 'could haves' and 'should haves'. Because… let's face it Natsu. In all these years, you never quite got round to forgiving yourself."

He shook his head, hands clenched into fists. "And… and I…"

"Got married? Raised a family?" She finished his sentence, as though reading his mind. Maybe she could- perhaps that was what angels could do.

He nodded and Lucy exhaled in exasperation.

"Natsu, I'm glad you did. In fact… that leads me on to my next point."

"Which is?"

"As I said, we dwell on 'should haves'. I should have told Mamma that I loved her every day. I should have been a better daughter. I shouldn't have dropped my keys when Phantom Lord kidnapped me. I should have trained and become a stronger mage. I should have waited for you instead of getting cocky and going on a mission alone.'

"But the point is, Natsu, that you cannot change the past, only look at it in a different light. After all…" at this point, she looked up, into his eyes, holding him with her chocolate gaze. The ghost of a grin was dancing on her lips. "If I hadn't died, would Layla have been born?"

"Layla…" Natsu whispered, feeling his heart swell with love for his daughter. Lucy giggled.

"You know, I wish I could thank Lisanna for that. She made a great wife, didn't she?"

A nod.

"My lesson to you, Natsu, is that everything happens for a reason. I died so that you could marry Lisanna. You married Lisanna so that Layla could be born. The cycle of life never stops, only alters."

He nodded slowly. "So… if you hadn't died…"

"Layla wouldn't exist." She smiled properly now, a bright beam that lit up her face. "Now, smile for me, will you?"

And he did, that large toothy grin that she knew and loved.

He helped her up from the polished floor, still smiling.

"Hey, Luce?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I ask a question?"

"Sure."

He paused and looked around, apprehensive of the opulent decoration. "Why is this mansion your heaven?"

And to that she burst out laughing, a tinkling sound that resonated through the air. "You're seeing it wrong, Natsu." She told him simply.

Lucy gestured her hand and the mansion disappeared, transforming into a familiar landscape. They were outside Fairy Tail, the old Fairy Tail, the one before Phantom Lord attacked. Her dress disappeared, replaced by the same clothes as the ones she had worn on the first day he met her. The streets of Magnolia were empty, yet sounds of laughter and energy radiating from the guild.

Without a word, Lucy walked away towards the entrance, then stopped. She turned around, smiled and waved. Only this time it wasn't a soft smile. It was wide and beautiful, lighting up her entire face, radiating happiness.

He waved back before turning away and running, running towards the next stage of heaven.

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><p><strong>AN: Written one night when I was supposed to do homework. If you liked it, please review. If you hated it, review. Reviews make the world go round.<strong>

**~Meg**


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